"From this distance, there shouldn't be any problems anymore," Blueno said as he stood by the side of the ship.
"That may be true, but we still can't lower our guard," Sanji replied, lighting a cigarette. "Don't forget—that guy can freeze the sea."
The scene from last time was still burned into Sanji's memory.
The moment that man used his power, the entire ocean froze solid.
That kind of strength was genuinely terrifying.
"Honestly, I don't think he'll chase us," Franky said.
"Why?" Nami asked.
"If he really wanted to, he would've frozen the sea long ago. There's no way he'd let us get this far."
As he spoke, Franky glanced back.
He had to admit—the ship's speed was incredible. With the wind in their favor, even if the Admiral wanted to chase them, he probably couldn't catch up now.
"So… he really gave up?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected a Marine Admiral to let them escape so easily.
After all, what they'd done was huge—shooting down the World Government's flag, openly declaring war, and on top of that, Jin alone had blocked the Buster Call and destroyed multiple warships.
And yet… no pursuit?
"Is it finally over…?"
"That's great, Robin!" Nami suddenly hugged her tightly. "We really made it out alive!!"
Once they realized they were safe, everyone finally relaxed. The tension that had been gripping them slowly faded away.
Being threatened by an Admiral was suffocating in a way words couldn't describe.
"Why don't I see Usopp or Jin?" Luffy asked weakly from the deck.
Lying flat on his back, Luffy barely managed to turn his head, but neither of them was in sight.
"Ahahaha! Usopp already left on a small boat!" masked Usopp laughed loudly. "Don't worry about him!"
"Oh… I see…"
"Then where's Jin?" Luffy asked again.
"Yeah," Nami added. "Robin, you said Jin was already on the ship, but I don't see him anywhere."
"Hey!" Sanji's face changed. "Don't tell me Jin volunteered to stay behind as rear guard…"
If that were true, then what had all their effort been for?
They saved one companion—only to lose another?
"Is that why the Admiral didn't chase us…?" Zoro clenched the hilt of his sword, veins bulging on his arm.
"Everyone, don't get so nervous," Robin said helplessly. "Hey, Jin—aren't you coming out yet?"
That guy hadn't made a sound ever since they escaped.
"What do you mean, come ou—"
Before Nami could finish, a scroll suddenly slipped out of Robin's clothes and began spinning slowly in midair.
With a poof, it transformed into Jin himself.
"Yo, everyone's here~"
"You were the scroll?!" Nami stared in disbelief. "How did you even do that?!"
No wonder Robin had silently tucked it into her clothes earlier—so that was Jin all along?!
"Transformation Technique," Jin said casually.
"Transformation…?" Usopp gasped. "Like Mr. 2's ability?"
They'd seen the Clone-Clone Fruit before—but this looked far more advanced.
"Jin's ability is way stronger than that guy's," Robin shook her head.
"Mr. 2 can only copy faces, but Jin can turn into anything he wants."
The difference was enormous.
"True," Zoro nodded.
"At the very least, that guy couldn't turn into objects. This technique is absurd if used properly."
Sanji suddenly rushed in front of Jin and grabbed his collar excitedly.
"Bastard—where exactly did you pop out from just now?!"
Jin: ???
Why was this guy so worked up over that?
"From Robin's chest," Jin answered honestly. "Why?"
Sanji: "..."
"Damn it… so… so jealous…"
Letting go, Sanji somehow pulled out a handkerchief and bit it dramatically, making Zoro twitch in annoyance.
"This damn pervert cook…"
"What did you say, moss-head?!"
"Say it again!!"
Clang clang bang bang!
The two started fighting again over nothing.
Jin's mouth twitched.
These two… seriously.
"Robin."
"Yes?"
"Welcome back."
Hearing Luffy's words, Robin smiled and nodded—her eyes quietly turning moist.
"Jin."
"Yeah, Luffy?"
"Welcome to the crew," Luffy grinned widely. "When we get back, we'll throw a huge banquet!"
"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it."
A pirate banquet…
That actually sounded pretty fun.
"What about this guy?" Usopp pointed at Blueno.
He was CP9 after all. Even though Jin had been controlling him, he was still an enemy—they couldn't keep him around forever.
"That's easy," Jin grinned. "We kill him."
From start to finish, the man with the spatial Devil Fruit had only ever been a tool.
Once used—he naturally had to be disposed of.
Without hesitation, Jin flicked a kunai.
It pierced straight through Blueno's body with tremendous force, knocking him off the ship and into the sea!
Splash—
Water sprayed as Blueno, regaining consciousness for a brief moment, sank slowly into the depths.
So this is how it ends…
If only he had been more cautious back then… maybe things would've turned out differently.
With regret in his heart, his consciousness faded into darkness.
Back on the Going Merry, Jin calmly dusted off his hands.
"He's CP9. There was never any chance I'd let him go."
No one objected.
"When we left, that massive water domain still hadn't disappeared," Franky said.
"Your clone was still there, right?"
"What happened after that?"
"Nothing much," Jin replied. "I just fought a Marine Admiral."
"…You fought a Marine Admiral?!" Franky's eyes nearly popped out.
Seriously—what kind of monsters were in this crew?!
"He's not a god," Jin said lightly. "Why wouldn't I fight him?"
Franky: "..."
Sure—but what normal person even thinks about challenging an Admiral?!
"It was only a clone anyway," Jin continued. "Even if it got destroyed, it doesn't matter. Gaining experience fighting an Admiral is worth it."
"Then what was the result?" Usopp asked curiously.
"No idea."
"…No idea?"
"Yeah." Jin rubbed his chin. "Right before my clone disappeared, I used Lightning Release: Kirin."
"I wonder whether he liked that gift."
That level of lightning—if it had struck the sea directly—very few Marines would've survived.
"Ninjas really are terrifying," Kokoro burst out laughing.
Attacking a Marine Admiral without even being there in person—those Marines must be having a headache right about now.
"Jin, can we learn ninjutsu too?" Usopp asked eagerly.
"Well…" Jin thought for a moment. "Probably not."
There were many theories about chakra—some said it came from the God Tree's fruit, others from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, others from the Sage of Six Paths.
But no matter which theory was correct, one thing was certain:
To use chakra, you needed a direct or indirect connection to it.
And clearly, people of this world didn't have that.
Their bodies—down to the cellular level—were simply different.
So naturally… they couldn't learn it.
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